Getting started with ARM?

Hi everyone! I am new to ARM development and have a few concerns about 
setting up the whole development environment.

First of all, I would like to use a universal ARM programmer/debugger. 
It seems like OpenOCD supports the USB Blaster/clone. The USB Blaster 
was intended to program Altera CPLDs; does this mean I can use that 
adapter to to program/debug ARM chips?

Second, I am quite confused that OpenOCD does not support Cortex M0 
devices, but has support for the SWD transport. What does this mean? Can 
I use the USB Blaster/clone adapter for both JTAG and SWD?

Last of all, I would like to know what debugging is like. I have been 
using the LPCxpresso and its debugging session allows users to view 
peripheral register contents (GPIO, ADC, SPI, etc), as shown in the 
bottom right hand corner in this picture 
http://torlus.com/images/2011/lpcx-blinky.png. Is this possible with the 
open-source toolchains?

Thanks in advance!
Sincerely,

John